Jump
by Mala in se
Summary: A series short vingettes describing moments shared by an 18yearold Rin and Sess along a journey home. Not a pairing Third installment added
1. Jump

Sesshoumaru, Rin, and any characters and situations from the Inuyasha series are not the property of the author. No infringement is intended.   
  
This is a short vignette describing a moment between Sesshoumaru and an 18-year-old Rin at sunset. I feel the piece can stand alone, but at the moment I am strongly considering expanding it in future installments, though I make no promises about anything I haven't written.   
  
I've made some tiny revisions to the story. Special thanks and much gratitude to Talon skydragon for pointing out an error that I'd missed. And to lynnxlady and baka deshi for assisting with the laguage barrier. I appreciate the help.  
  
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy.  
  
Jump  
  
Privileged children, children who grow up sheltered and wanting for nothing find one of two paths. Some will grow fearful of the world outside of their own, not trusting that unfamiliar realm to shelter them with the care and consideration they had been shown before. The rest grow fearless and free. These children are so sure of their protection, so confident in their actions, and so secure in the love given during their youth by their caretakers that they plunge fearlessly into the world voraciously exploring, and tackling the challenges around the way.  
  
Sesshoumaru was seated impassively on the ground, still and unmovable against the rough trunk of an ancient tree. The forest around him was still in the fading light that made it's way lazily into the clearing where they had set up camp. His eyes moved to the impeccable young woman, gaze caught by her, the only movement in the stillness, and following her idly as she strolled at the base of the trees, threading gracefully between them. While his mind pondered over the bold words of one of her old tutors, wondering what had roused such an old, archaic moment to mind.  
  
Rin had been raised as such a child. He mused, continuing frivolously down his the path that though had carved for him. Ever since she had come into his protection and for the dozen years following, her every need had been attended too: food, shelter, and even the immaculate green kimono she wore as she moved around their campsite. And protection…   
  
Sesshoumaru had been shrewd over the past dozen years. Thanks to his careful actions and the circumstances of his half brother, he had solidified his holdings and secured his power. That he was the most powerful of the youkai now was simple, undeniable, and accepted fact. (Though he chose to ignore there was one hanyou more powerful). None would, or even could, dare cross him, especially over so trivial and proximal a holding as Rin. That any would even try was absurd. The more enterprising creatures even brought her trinkets when they paid him tribute to seek a boon. The delicate comb of ivory and jade now restraining her sleek hair had been a gift from a spider youkai seeking his favor. There was no creature in his Western Lands safer than she.   
  
He lost notice of her during his rumination, rousing slightly at the sight of the empty clearing, but her scent still ghosted over him and a vigorous rustle of leaves in the looming tree across the clearing told him he only needed to raise his head to find her, her lithe figure moving up until the branches grew too thin to hold her.  
  
With a contented smile Rin settled herself against the trunk, at a height that would make most men lose their nerve. But after all this time traveling the forests with a youkai she had learned that this was where to find the good view. And the panorama that spread out below her dainty slippers was well worth the climb. The lush green forest rolled away for miles before her, a village or two dotting the far hills, basking in the sunset that was well underway. Tonight the sun was being especially generous with its bedtime display. The western sky was a riot of molten and twisting hues of red, gold, and orange. It was simply beautiful, no more, no less, and in that moment Rin was happy watching the sun slink away.  
  
A soft rush of wind and a shift of the branches beside her announced Sesshoumaru's presence at her side. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and he watched her delicate profile melt into a saucy pout of playful jealousy. He didn't even need to hear her clear and silk-toned voice to know that she said to him, "Feh, I have to do all that work to get up here and all you have to do is hop." The playful expression fell away as she settled back into her study of the spectacular colors painting the sky. Her silence was companionable and her countenance joyous as she gazed at the world from beside him, surrendering to a moment of beauty.   
  
Sesshoumaru watched the sun fall with her, but his thoughts had turned to the side. The tiny girl he had saved had grown to become a woman of 18, she was no longer a child. Had she lived in a human village she would have children of her own now. Perhaps she would be watching this sunset with her husband. But would she have that infinitely soft smile playing across her lips? And would she be perched so perilously high above the earth enjoying her superior vantage point had he returned her to her own kind so many years ago? Perhaps it was arrogance on his part, but Sesshoumaru thought not. Humans, those rude, ignorant beasts who had been so cruel to her would have never tended to her as he had, protected and provided for her, given her the privileged life that made children fearless. He looked at her now, at the delicate, easy profile of the woman she had become; a woman absorbed by a simple sunset, seated precariously beside the most dangerous creature she could ever expect to encounter, unafraid.   
  
His Rin feared only wolves.  
  
The sun had finally sunk below the horizon, declining an encore but leaving a fading gleam around the horizon. A consideration to Rin it seemed, providing her just enough light to find her way down. She turned and smiled at him with a look of simple happiness, the back of her hand brushing his sleeve. "The sunset was beautiful was it not Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked softly with a sigh, glancing down, reluctant to leave this moment.  
  
He nodded at her smiling face, another ancient memory unearthing and springing to mind. A memory of a time long ago when she was still very small and the land had been more dangerous. He had taken her high up a tree to sleep, bounding up easily with the little burden in his arms. In the morning he had jumped down just as easily to retrieve some small and forgotten trifle. When he joined her again she had gazed up worshipfully at him with her enormous brown eyes and said, "Rin wishes she could jump like Sesshoumaru-sama."   
  
Even now Sesshoumaru couldn't explain how the idea had seized him at that moment, but once conceived it was swiftly carried out. He removed himself to the ground again, making sure the path was clear, he looked up at her, opening his arms and called softly, "Jump Rin." And without a second's hesitation she did, falling wide-eyed and exhilarated safely into his arms.  
  
It had been a rare but beloved game, played when Sesshoumaru was feeling particularly indulgent and they were quite alone. He would send her off to the tallest tree with a particular glance and Rin would brighten, charging the trunk and scrambling up as high as she could. Every time he would call to her, "Jump Rin." And she would dive from the branches, screaming with childish glee the whole way down as they both waited for until the very last second of the fall for his arms to close around her, never once considering that he might miss. It had been years since he had indulged her in that game….  
  
And now in the fading light he found himself looking at her, his voice finding the long forgotten words, "Jump Rin."  
  
Her eyes widened for a moment, as did her smile, radiance expanding. She sifted gracefully to the edge of the limb that supported her then with a last, giddy glance over her shoulder to him, dove, plummeting head-first toward the ground with a joyous shriek.   
  
Sesshoumaru went after her, his quick reflexes allowing him to wait until the very last moment and then catch her easily about her slim waist, snatching her from her fall, righting her in his arms as he landed lightly on his feet. Rin was beaming, her hands clutching his kimono, breathless in her exhilaration. Her eyes shone as they had when she was a tiny child as she gazed up at him in the murky light.   
  
"Sesshoumaru…." she began, and it seemed her entire being shone just like her eyes, but words failed her. Instead she threw her head back and laughed, flinging her arms around his shoulders and pressing her cheek to his chest in a joyful embrace.  
  
And gently he returned her embrace, his arms going gingerly around the warm, slender form grown so familiar and yet so altered over the last 12 years, his hand flattening over her silken hair. He held her for a long moment, longer than he would have normally allowed out of propriety. But right now, in the darkening world, holding Rin in his arms and having her hold him in kind for was the only proper action. They pulled away simultaneously, his hand lingering on her hair before sliding away. She took a step back, her smile for him smaller now, but soft, infinitely soft and she turned silently to attend the fire, the moment sinking away like the sun.  
  
And they were both content.  
  
Fin  
  
Thank you for reading my story.  
  
Reviews are quite welcome and I gratefully thank anyone who takes the time to leave one. I don't ask they necessarily be positive, but do ask that they be constructive so that I may learn from, and possibly rectify, any grammatical, stylistic, or syntactical errors I may make. I also would like to state that any reviews I receive will have no bearing on whether I continue this story. I do not agree with the practice of extorting reviews by withholding chapters. I make no judgments of authors who do, it is their choice and an undeniably effective method of getting feedback, but it is not a practice I indulge in. 


	2. Return

See first chapter for disclaimer.  
  
AN: I find myself surprised to be writing this. I know I mentioned a continuation of the series, but I hadn't expected it to turn out quite like this…. What will probably follow is a collection of short vignettes, similar in style to "Jump." Each work takes place during a short journey Rin and Sesshoumaru are undertaking back to his palace. It's not so much a linear story as a series of snapshots of different aspects in their relationship that just happen to occur linearly on a time line. As a result, each story will be able to be read as a stand-alone piece but will be connected with the other in the series. I think. To tell the truth, this has taken on a life of it's own and I'm as much in the dark about where it's going as you are, but I thought I'd run with it.   
  
The one thing I am fairly certain about is that this will not be taking a turn for the romantic. I've got nothing against romance, but it's just doesn't seem to be in the nature of the characters inhabiting this particular fic. As for other romance, well, Sesshoumaru doesn't really strike me as "looking for love," and I don't think Rin's meeting too many eligible… well… anything. Would you want to hit on her… in front of Sesshoumaru? That prospect makes traditional fathers on the porch with shotguns seem so much more benign suddenly.  
  
I thank you all for your patience and indulgence. And I hope you enjoy what I have to present.  
  
Return  
  
Rin passed though the gates of village, slowing her pace as she entered the market place, her smile widening as her eyes began to skip from booth to booth, exploring everything this temporary stop offered her. Each time into a market, no matter how small and how humble was like the discovery of a new world for her, though they may all have rice and meat, the grains offered in this market were different from those in the last and would be different still when she returned. It was a notion that brought her great satisfaction. She went on these missions alone to spare Sesshoumaru her lingering perusal of items he found unnecessary and mundane. Besides, he had no need of items offered by humans like she did and his presence would create so much disorder she'd accomplish nothing anyway. She glanced at the sky trying to ascertain how much time she had, then with a quick glance to the forest, she plunged into her new exploration with an expectant smile on her lips, her fingers lingering on the edge of the rice-sellers cart.  
  
Sesshoumaru never told her that he watched her when she went into the villages  
  
When she had been younger his supervision had been unnecessary. Jaken had been her constant companion and chaperone and though weak, he was certainly enough to guard her in the company of humans and to sound the alarm should something go truly wrong. The little toad had been enough to ensure her return.   
  
Now that they traveled alone, and now that Rin had attained such graceful adulthood, it had become his custom to keep more vigilant watch over her, just as he did now, standing in the concealing line of trees on a ridge above the humble village she had set off too this morning. He was neither blind nor naïve. Sesshoumaru knew that a lone and lovely young woman, well dressed and well funded would attract notice an exuberant child had not. The admiring gazes of the young village men as she passed and they slowed their work to stare after her was an eloquent concurrence.   
  
Rin was an odd sight for the villagers; even those accustomed to travelers, an unaccompanied young woman, hair down like a peasant girl but dressed like a princess as she glided silently through, taking in what was so humble and familiar to them with eager and vivacious curiosity. Looks of distrust, lust, opportunity, and curiosity greeted her as she moved serenely among them, unmindful of the slanting threats and sideways desires that traced her when she stopped to ask a question or select an item to purchase with the abundant funds he always provided her with. Sesshoumaru noted that they fell away from her as she walked, clearing a path for her as if she were more than human. And rightly so.  
  
It was the males that began to gravitate around her that attracted Sesshoumaru's most dedicated attention. Most seemed too disconcerted by her appearance, unable to tell if she was human or apparition. They were too awed to draw too near the lovely girl moving so serenely in their midst and instead gazed from a distance with pathetic looks of awe and fantasy. But occasionally one of those silly village boys became bold and would approach.   
  
A handsome young man began to circle her as she admired a fine silk kimono, the seller holding it out to her so she could appraise the pattern of cherry blossoms sewn in the innocent pink blushes of spring. Sesshoumaru folded his arms as the youth laid a hand by her elbow on the rough edge of the cart and spoke to her with a sly and charming smile, causing both Rin and the kimono merchant to look at him as he interjected himself in their transaction.   
  
Rin glanced up at the young man with the same smiling interest she showed the produce in the bins or the houses lining the square and returned his greeting politely and directly, distinctly void of the blushes and lowered eyes and the surrender of flirtation. She turned back to the kimono merchant, who waited for her with great reverence, to point out some feature of the pattern, her finger moving gracefully down the silk.  
  
The young man tried again to gain her attention, leaning in closer to corner her into his advances. The youth was exerting his dominion and looking for Rin to submit, to succumb to his fine looks and admiring attentions. Sesshoumaru looked on, wondering if Rin found the young man handsome. A cool breeze rustled the forest around him.   
  
Rin turned her head slowly, unmoved by this new proximity. The joyous glow had left her and now only a sharp and tiny smile clung to her lips as she studied him at her leisure, her lovely face a mask of cold regal composure. She held him pinned with that cruel and inscrutable gaze, and the youth took a step back. She released him abruptly as soon as he did, turning back to the kimono seller with an easy smile, reaching for her purse and returning to her business.   
  
The youth seemed in shock and for a moment he stared at her from his new position. His face went suddenly and ominously dark as Rin placed her money in the kimono merchant's hand and he grabbed her upper arm roughly, turning her to face him. The entire market seemed to stop and watch them and above the village, Sesshoumaru took a step forward, poised.   
  
Rin frowned at him, cocking her head to the side. She looked decidedly annoyed, but not particularly concerned by the large man towering over her delicately made form. This time it was she who leaned into him, lifting her head smoothly, her narrowed eyes fixing decisively on his as she began to speak slowly, and softly.  
  
Perhaps she told the young man that a youkai lord protected her. Perhaps she told a lie about a husband and brothers who would protect her honor. Perhaps she simply told him that he was acting like a fool and crushed him in the way that only a beautiful woman can injure a young man. What ever she said, she was unshaken. And again, it was he who was backed down. He unhanded her immediately and slunk away and Rin shook her head, reaching for her package and smiling her thanks prettily to the kimono seller, her head already on the next trinket to catch her eye.  
  
The entire village trained it's gaze upon Rin when she left, walking alone into the forest from whence she had come. They whispered to those close about princesses and apparitions, legends and fairytales and of women with great power who none dare cross. For a time the tavern dwellers tried to unravel her, and called her a mystery while the young man who had spoken to her shook his head and said nothing.   
  
Sesshoumaru could sense their speculations, smell it in the air but he chose to ignore it. Her singular scent of health and new blossoms in a warm spring rain took precedent over that of an unremarkable village. He had turned his back to the village walls in order to watch Rin scamper near with an eager smile and an arm full of packages held out like an offering. The ruby petals of a native blossom peaked shyly from behind her left ear.  
  
"Were you successful?" he asked as she stopped before him.  
  
"Um hmm," Rin nodded with shinning eyes, her fingers already gone to the knots around her packages, "I bought a new kimono, would you like to see, Sesshoumaru-sama?"  
  
Sesshoumaru said nothing, but folded his arms across his chest and kept his neutral gazed fixed upon her.  
  
She smiled, a movement that came so naturally to her lips and deftly removed the kimono, knowing an affirmative answer when she saw it. "I though it was pretty," Rin said, stepping closer to him, the garment displayed in her arms. She gazed up at him with her soft eyes, seeking nothing more than a glimmer of his approval.  
  
He studied the flowered silk for a moment and granted her the slightest of nods, a sign of his satisfaction.   
  
Her eyes glowed and she touched his arm, her fingers a fleeting ghost of tender sensation.   
  
"Come," he was off, heading back into the forest. They had ground still to cover before making camp for the night.  
  
Rin fell into a contented silence, her attention stolen to the world around her once again as she followed his lead. It didn't occur to her to look back.  
  
And subtly, almost unconsciously that neglected action was catalogued in a tiny, disregarded recess of the great youkai lord, just as it was every single time they left a village behind, for 12 years past.  
  
Just as before; reviews are quite welcome and I gratefully thank anyone who takes the time to leave one. I don't ask they necessarily be positive, but do ask that they be constructive so that I may learn from, and possibly rectify, any grammatical, stylistic, or syntactical errors I may make. I also would like to state that any reviews I receive will have no bearing on whether I continue this story. I do not agree with the practice of extorting reviews by withholding chapters. I make no judgments of authors who do, it is their choice and an undeniably effective method of getting feedback, but it is not a practice I indulge in. 


	3. Fear

Fear  
  
See first chapter for disclaimer.  
  
In this installment: Sesshoumaru and Rin encounter the one thing she fears.  
  
A/N: I've never been able to find a definitive answer to the question "What the f*#$ is that fuzzy thing over Sesshoumaru's shoulder?" Is it a tail? Is it a trophy from some defeated foe or fallen authority? Is it just a manifestation of his quirky yet fabulous fashion sense? Right now I'm inclined to believe it's just there to serve as a paradox for spiritual centering, a animated "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" if you will. Or maybe the creators are just trying to baffle us for their own twisted amusement. I can respect that too. In any case, I've chosen to refer to it as a "pelt" in this series of stories. It seems the most conservative term that I can apply since it really just means object covered with fur. Pelt can be stretched to apply to a tail, a boa, or the skin of another animal/youki.   
  
I'd also like to take a moment to show my deep and sincere appreciation for everyone who has reviewed this story. You have all been remarkably benevolent and encouraging and I am humbled by, and deeply grateful for your kind words. Thank you.  
  
Chapter 3 -Fear- owes a special debt of gratitude to Sirithlothien for pointing out some very careless mistakes on the part of the author. Thank you for seeing what I missed.  
  
I hope you enjoy this third vignette.  
  
Fear  
  
They stopped as the night fell upon them, soft and balmy. Each went about their tasks for making camp silently; he found game while she built a fire and prepared the meal. Rin had long been accustomed Sesshoumaru's economy of words and had learned occupy herself happily with her own thoughts. The workings of her mind played across her face, her expression constantly changing in the firelight. After they had eaten she wandered off to bathe and had returned clad in her new kimono and a guilty smile. Now she sat, brushing her long hair dry before the fire, contentment radiating in her guileless smile.  
  
Sesshoumaru stood, braced against a tree, his gaze falling upon Rin and the dancing fire light. He had been watching her for some time now, but that too was a habit they had both become accustomed too. Each knew the subtleties of the other.  
  
Finally she finished the ministrations to her hair, giving it a satisfied shake, reveling in silken feel of it as it brushed her cheek and neck. The long obsidian curtain settled heavily around her shoulders, so dark it would have been indistinguishable from the night but for the soft gleam she had so meticulously brushed into it. Rin rose with a yawn, worn out from her day's activities and moved softly to Sesshoumaru, weariness beginning to show in her eyes.  
  
"I'm going to sleep now Sesshoumaru-sama. Goodnight," she said softly, leaning up on tip-toe to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. He leaned down slightly to accommodate her. For though she had grown substantially since this nightly ritual was started, fate had still left her a petite creature. Her hand lingered lightly on his arm as she began to turn for bed, another yawn struggling past her lips.   
  
A lone howl ghosted over them from far away and Sesshoumaru saw a chill passed over Rin. She took an unconscious step closer to him.   
  
Rin had never gotten over the attack by the youkai, and whenever they heard even common wolves calling to each other in the night, the same pale look of apprehension came across her face. When she had been very small, the call of the wolves had caused her to cry and cling to him in fear and he had silently allowed it, wrapping her in his pelt to hush her tears, silencing Jaken's grumbling with a ferial glance.   
  
Now she glanced up guiltily though her lashes as she realized what she had done in her fear. Rin took possession of herself and withdrew, sheepishly steeling herself, exerting all her effort not to react when the answering call came.   
  
Something about that look of guilt as she tried to hide her fear, her body going stiff under the fluid drape of the pink kimono triggered something deep within the youkai lord. As he watched the fear gleam in her eyes, and watched her try to disguise it, a deep growl rose in his chest. Rin jumped, startled. "Rin, don't move," he ordered, leaping off into the night with, his sword drawn.  
  
Rin felt panic rise in her throat. He had left her alone in the dark with the howling of the wolves, the fierce manner of his departure only unsettling her more. Were they in some kind of danger? She hugged her arms to herself as another shiver passed over her. The night seemed to close around her, grumbling and snarling as it reminded her of her frailty in harsh whispers. Rin strained for sounds of Sesshoumaru and what could have drawn him away, though no noise, no shouts of conflict or smash of weapons greeted her ears, compounding her unease as the empty seconds ticked by.   
  
Rin stood absolutely still in the clearing where he'd left her, forcing herself to breath the sweet air in deeply, willing her heart to calm it's frantic pacing. "Sesshoumaru would not have left if I were in danger here," she admonished herself sternly, "he will be back any moment." Rin waited, the darkness growing less threatening as she reasoned away her fear and the crawling seconds coalesced into languid minutes. "At least," she though wryly, "I don't hear any more wolves."   
  
It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes of that eternity before she heard him returning, knowing his sounds absolutely. The remaining tension slipped away and she turned her gaze to the eastern forest waiting for him to appear and grant her full relief. Sesshoumaru didn't disappoint her, breaking through the tree line seconds later.   
  
Rin frowned, noting he carried something with him, a large awkward bundle of sorts that she was unable to make out in the gloom. "Sesshoumaru," she called to him, possessed with the sudden urge to run to him, throw herself around his neck and tell him how happy she was to see him. But she thought better substituting a concerned, "Is everything well?" instead. He did not answer, but kept coming swiftly toward her, his body set in a belligerent stance, dragging the bundle behind him.  
  
Rin felt her apprehension begin to return, sensing something was wrong. She reached out a hand to him, preparing to call out again but he was already upon her, swinging the bundle over his shoulder fiercely and slamming it into the ground before her as though he detested it and could bear to touch it no longer. Rin looked at him curiously, trying to fathom his mind, hoping for a rare hint of what might be transpiring behind those great golden eyes, but his features were hard and impassive. She turned her attention to the ground hoping that would give her some inkling of what was happening. The moon shone down upon it, revealing it's true nature and Rin let out a strangled scream, drawing back.  
  
There, at her feet, lay the carcasses of a dozen wolves.  
  
She looked back to him, pale and questioning, unsure of what he meant by this gesture. Sesshoumaru met her trembling gaze evenly, his expression unchanged, giving nothing. Rin took a breath and a step closer, reaching out slowly with shaking fingers. Lightly she touched the shaggy head of one large male, laying on top of the others, drawing her fingers back immediately with a gasp, expecting the creature to snap at her. It simply lay still. Dead.  
  
Sesshoumaru watched as she touched the creature, drawing back as if she had been burned, the scent of fear rolling off her almost as strongly as the scent of death from the creatures between them and the rage began to build silently in him again. He was sorely tempted to seek out another pack of the craven animals…but not tonight. He couldn't leave Rin alone again tonight, not with those creatures nearby, dead or not. It was only due to his presence that she stood them now.   
  
Rin was looking at him again, with a wide and troubled gaze, so many questions swimming in the mahogany depths, her supplicating hand held out to him. He went to her now, moving slowly round the carcasses, and took her hand, drawing her to him. Sesshoumaru saw her cast an apprehensive glance to the pile out of the corner of her eye. He caught her delicate chin in his hand, forcing her gaze to meet his, rendering her unable to look away. "Fear nothing Rin," his voice was cool but the words were unmistakably an order. He held her eyes for a few more moments, his fingers pressing firmly into her chin then let her go, the command in his grip giving way to tenderness, his fingers brushing back the silken hair at her temple.   
Sesshoumaru's arm snaked gently around her shoulders, turning her away from the wolves, keeping his body between her and those of the slain creatures as he lead her softly into the forest upwind of the campsite. The smell of wolf's blood would make sleeping there unbearable.   
  
Rin settled heavily into his arm, letting him lead her, unconscious of where they went, her mind still puzzling over what had just transpired. 'He killed them for me,' she hadn't even realized it until he had spoken to her and now that though dominated all the others being tossed around by her nimble mind. 'Sesshoumaru killed the wolves because they frighten me.' It was a realization that did little to ease her thoughts and did even less to answer the question at the bottom of all the others: Why?   
  
She was still deep in those contemplations when they stopped, Sesshoumaru spotting a resting-place to his liking at the base of a tall tree. He sat; resting his back against the strong trunk, suddenly weary from battle, uncomplicated though it had been. He had fought nothing greater than a simple animal after all. Rin stood before him for a moment, her gaze far away. She looked decidedly inhuman in her reverie, with her pale, elegant features, the moonlight threading ribbons of shimming silver in the loose strands of her hair, and the delicate pinks and whites of the cherry blossom kimono giving off a soft iridescence in the tricky light. It seemed as if her distant gaze was trained upon the place she belonged, far from this rough plane.  
  
She would surely ruin her fine gown if she slept on the dewy ground tonight, Sesshoumaru realized as he studied her in the moon glow. He took her hands gently in his own, reviving her, and drawing her down, not beside him as she had expected, but into his lap, much to her surprise. It had been years since he'd held her so, but his impassive face barred any argument as his warm pelt was wrapped around her and he settled her fully against his much larger frame. Rin simply laid her head against the curve of his shoulder, too wearied by the day to begin to tackle this as well.   
  
She could feel Sesshoumaru relaxing beneath her, his head falling back against the tree as he too settled in to sleep. Softly, his arms crept around her, holding her reverently and securely as he warmed her, kept her dry, kept her safe just as he had when she was a child…. Suddenly Rin wanted nothing more than to weep. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers tangling gingerly in his soft, silver hair, and buried her face in his warm shoulder. His cryptic words echoed in her head, "Fear nothing Rin," taking on thousands of new shades of meaning like dewdrops in the sunlight. The image of him staring at her intensely, face grim over the foes he hand placed so easily at her feet forming before her closed eyes.  
  
"Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered into his neck, cuddling close to his heart, giving herself up to his embrace.   
  
He said nothing, but his arm lifted and he began to stroke her satiny hair gently, pulling his claws gingerly though the fine, shimmering strands. Within moments she was deeply asleep, her arms securely about him.  
  
Sesshoumaru stroked her silky head long into the night. Rin was so light and fragile against him, utterly defenseless. Alone, deep in the night he let her vulnerability humble him and he admitted, though only for a span of a single night, her surrender marked his defeat.   
  
He would lay every single wolf in Japan at her feet if she ever asked.  
----------  
  
As usual, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated. I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong. And as usual, reviews have no bearing on when the next installment is posted; there will be review extortion here. 


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